The History

The school is to be built here. So far, hundreds of cashew trees have been growing on our property. To make room for the school, some of them now have to be felled.

The walls are being raised before the rainy season begins. The single-storey construction saves the need to build complex scaffolding. Because of the ubiquitous termites, we decide on concrete and against clay.

A covered walkway connects the two school buildings. Each consists of a large classroom and small rooms for the secretariat and toilets. The wide roof overhang protects the masonry from the extreme rainfall around the middle of the year.

While the elders are holding long speeches, our friend Carlos is already inspiring the young ones. Fun and games are part of it from the very beginning. We are able to experience early on what still amazes us today: school here is a pleasure!

Behind us the poles with the flags of the country and the school, in front of us the plaque of the school and the first benefactor. From left to right: co-founders of the association Raoul Mörchen and Beate Schüler with Carlos Robalo.

Victor Robalo’s farm is right next to the school grounds. Here he is sitting on the veranda of his farm with his son Carlos (left).

This photo still hangs in the hallway outside the school office. Back row, from left: Mike Herting, Christel Achilles, Beate Schüler, Claudia and Gerd von Velsen, Manos Tsangaris, Kirsten Nepstad, Carlos Robalo. Front row, from left: Max von Velsen, Raoul Mörchen.

After the successful drilling, the water tower is now also in place. A small solar-powered pump ensures a reliable water level throughout the year. The investment in good quality has paid off. Twenty years later, the pump and tower are still securing the school’s drinking water supply.

At the beginning of the second school year, the children will be able to draw water themselves for the first time. We have built a second tap outside the school grounds for the people of the surrounding villages. They too can now drink clean water at any time without worry.

The new canteen offers space for 100 children to eat lunch together. The school meals programme is supported by the UN’s food and agriculture organisation, FAO.

The tiny toilets in the school buildings have had their day. A new sanitary block offers facilities for both boys and girls, along with a central washing block. Not everything is used by everyone, but this is a place of learning.

The largest room in the school now also serves as a meeting room, for example for parents‘ days and village meetings. During the long rainy season, this is a welcome alternative to the otherwise popular meetings in the shade of the cashew trees.

More and more children want to attend school, and the existing classes are already far too full. At the beginning of our sixth year, we are inaugurating two new class houses. Our architect Kirsten Nepstad has designed a modular plan that allows us to expand the initial model step by step with additional buildings.

It’s the same story every time: after the rainy season ends, the school grounds are hopelessly overgrown. The older students help with the big clean-up. That’s how we do things when it comes to other work too: responsibility and commitment to the school is a duty. We don’t need to persuade them to do it.

So far, we have managed somehow, but now we need a real sports field! To do that, the trees and undergrowth have to go. The kids will do most of the work themselves.

From now on, there will be football here until the balls burst. For great fun, a couple of wooden slats are enough as goalposts.

Since we opened the new playground, the climbing spider has been in high demand. Special sand ensures a soft landing if you do happen to fall.

What should we do? More and more children want to learn with us – we have to expand. This summer, school buildings number 7 and 8 will be built. That’s it for us. From now on, we have space for three hundred and fifty pupils.

After a long period of preliminary planning, we repaired the defective solar system, modernised and expanded it extensively. Thanks to new batteries, the system is now much more efficient and not only provides lighting for the interior rooms, but also operates a large amplifier system for the sound system at the popular school festivals.

For many children, the journey to school is long and arduous. Some need almost an hour to finally walk through the school gate after leaving their homes along the main road. Only some older children have bicycles.

… the school is not yet, but the first cassava is sprouting in its own school garden and will soon be added to the lunch menu.

Wieder einmal haben einige der Stipendiaten das Abitur bestanden am besten Gymnasium des Landes, dem Liceu João XXIII in der Hauptstadt Bissau. Der Verein zahlt Schulgeld, Bücher und Kleidung, lernen müssen sie selbst.

Das neue Schuljahr beginnt mit einem feierlichen Appell. Wir hissen die Fahnen des Landes und der Schule und singen gemeinsam ihre Hymnen. Tatsächlich hat längst auch die Schule eine eigene!

Sportunterricht an der Schule ist schon immer zentral gewesen. Hier lernen die Kinder Fairness und Teamgeist. Dank dem ehemaligen U-20-Weltmeister und FC-Porto-Stürmer Nelson Antonio Gama und seiner gemeinnützigen Tagara Academy wird freiwillig auch samstags trainiert!

An old fire engine in absolute dream condition, refurbished and equipped with indestructible technology – that’s what the new school bus will be. We will be shipping it from Germany to Bissau in the next few weeks.